Are you interested to be well informed on the critical aspects of the PMP exam? Do you want to know about the recent changes in the PMBok? Or are you keen to explore the PMP Exam requirements? Do you want to have answers to many more PMP related questions? Then you are definitely reading the right article! As in this article, we will provide you information on interesting Top 10+ questions about the PMP exam which will be helpful for project management aspirants to initiate their journey towards project management.

PMP demands a serious focused effort by the aspirants to obtain the PMP credentials. Therefore it is important to get the idea of the PMP Exam so that you can plan to mark the success as certified. Let me take you through these questions one by one. As I understand that the PMP credentials will help you showcase your abilities, experience, in addition to your efforts and consistency you have put in to achieve your target, I surely believe that this little effort of mine may act as a game-changer for you.

PMP Brings Advantages

There are many advantages that PMP certification brings to the PMP certification holders. These advantages surely act as a motivator for the aspirants to initiate and complete their PMP journey. According to independent researches, certified project managers in the United States make an average of $111,000 per year and PMPs make 22% more than non-PMPs. The annual salary ranges from $85,000 to $135,000 depending on the years of experience. So the PMP benefits include high market value, increased credibility and in many cases, higher pay.

• The organizations are looking to recruit best project managers with globally endorsed skills, PMP certification is a must-have requirement of hiring organizations. Even if PMP is not specifically mentioned, one gets preference in the hiring criteria.
• The organizations also get the edge on their PMP certified professionals as they make the profile richer.
• The PMP certification holders earn recognition and value within their current organization. The challenging tasks are generally given to more qualified project managers, so it makes PMP project managers better options. The success in the projects earns them rewards and recognition.
• Companies love to promote and fill in the vacancies with their existing resources if they are certified.
• According to an independent survey, people with PMP certification are earning 20 percent more salary as compared to their non-certified peers. This is a great return on investment of what you spend on the PMP certification.
• PMP does not bound you to a specific industry. Even though the degrees lay the foundation within a specific industry. The PMP certification lays a foundation of the project management knowledge and skills set on top of that technical skills. It paves the path towards the management ladder with a strong foundation and strong recognition.

What Are the PMP Exam Requirements?

PMI defines quite an extensive criteria requirement to sit in the PMP exam. This criterion is very well thought; it ensures that the project management aspirants meet a certain education level, relevant work experience. In addition to this, the criteria also set a requirement for relevant training. The aspirants fulfilling these criteria are eligible to appear in the PMP exam. These three dimensions play an important role to select the right candidates.

Education and Experience

You can see that the project management experience requirement is subject to the degree of the candidate. If the candidate is a graduate then they need to showcase the 3 years of experience which means 4500 hours of project-related activities. Whereas if the candidate is a non-graduate, then the project management experience requirement goes to 5 years. Hence the non-graduate candidate has to showcase 5 years of experience that can be converted to 7500 hours.

Contact hours – Training

In addition to education and experience, the above-mentioned criteria also emphasize the training hours fulfilment. So in order to qualify for the PMP exam criteria, candidates need to acquire 35 hours of PMP training.

Considering this important factor for 35 hours of professional engagement, you must acquire professional training. And it is very clear from this fact that the training plays a crucial role in obtaining the PMP certification. So other than your education and working experience, you must obtain these 35 hours.

What is the PMP Exam Like?

The PMP exam is composed of 180 questions. There are 230 minutes to complete the exam. The PMP Exam Questions will be a combination of multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, hotspot, and limited fill-in-the-blank types of questions.

These questions are distributed within different project management domains. In other words, we can say that these questions are distributed within process groups that include, Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing.

The duration of the PMP Exam is 4 hours. So a candidate has around 1 hour for 25 questions on average. Means around 2 minutes for each question. Some of the questions will be relatively easy and may take less time of yours as compared to the average time, whereas some are long or complex which may take more time of yours as compared to the average time.

Domain wise PMP Exam questions distribution

The breakup of PMP Exam with respect to questions within different project management domains is as follows;

Three Main Domains & Weight for PMP Exam:

1- People (42%)

2- Process (50%)

3- Business Environment (8%)

About half of the PMP exam will represent predictive project management approaches and the other half will represent agile or hybrid approaches.

It is important to mention here that each question of the PMP Exam is a multiple-choice question with 4 options. Out of these options, you have to select the right one from these given options. Hence you should try your best to practice the different domains and different types of questions, and you should also practice how to pick the right choice among several others.

Types of PMP Exam Questions

This means that the duration of ~4 hours and 180 questions from various domains within the project management framework, will be good enough to assess your understanding, knowledge, and experience along with your ability to interpret, focus and sustain. For this sake, there will be different types of questions. Many others have also categorized these questions to make the aspirants understand the overall structure of the PMP Exam. But there is no breakup of question types like the one you see for project management domains of process groups. Following are the most common and general categorization of these questions;

• ITTO-based questions
• Definition-based questions
• Situation-based questions
• Formula-based questions
• Interpretational questions
• Professional and social responsibility Questions

ITTO-based questions

Within the project management framework, all the processes are equipped with Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs which is abbreviated as ITTO. The good part of such questions is that these are well defined within the PMBoK so one can practice and remember. But it also brings the tough dimension as one has to remember the ITTOs for each of the processes.

There are certain logical ways to remember and answer such type of PMP exam questions. You need to practice in the real scenarios by putting yourself in the situation where you learn each process in terms of what is the output and what tools and techniques you must apply to obtain this specific output. Also, to apply the tools and techniques you must have certain inputs.

You can make this learning easier if you do your homework with respect to certain domains and process group areas. That includes Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Control, and Closing. This makes it easier to recall for the same stage of each knowledge area with some knowledge area-specific alterations.

For example “What is the output of Project Charter Process?”

Definition-based questions

There are also some questions that can check your understanding of specific terms and definitions. These questions are based on the definition given in the PMBOK guide. Such types of questions are easier to recall and hence easier to answer.

The tip of fool proofing this type of question preparation is to go through the close terms, make a list of these terms and make a comparison of these close terms. Different training provers also prepare flashcards to remember and reinforce such types of questions.

The good part of these questions is that once you prepare the question, you are likely to recall easily. These are also straightforward questions as their definitions do not change. The main point you should remember is to cover the broader aspect of terms and their definitions. For example, you should know the difference between types of Risks or the difference between Leads and Lags.

Such as:

Q: “What is meant by Finish to Start relationship?”

A: “A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has finished.”

Situation-based questions

PMP exam comprises of situation-based types of questions as well. In such types of questions, you are given a situation and based on the situation you are asked to find the correct answer. These questions test your ability to apply theoretical know-how to real-life project management situations. These situation based questions are tricky ones. So you have to be very mindful when you evaluate the situations to get to the most relevant answer.

Comes with long phrasing – a distinguishing factor

These scenarios based questions usually come with long phrasing. So you can develop your baseline of the situation layout in front of you. However, it is important to note that sometimes you may get additional information so you have to extract the right information and build the scenario applicability. The idea behind this is that in real life you will be given both relevant and irrelevant information. This is your test to identify what’s relevant and what is to ignore to build up your practical scenario understanding.

In addition to this, the wording of the questions plays a vital distinguishing factor where you will be asked what will be the BEST, NEXT, LAST, NOT, or EXCEPT option. So you have to give extra care to such tricky words. Especially the keywords like LAST, NOT or EXCEPT actually turn the situation into the reversals. These are the complex questions as there seems to be more than one option within the multiple choices you are given.

Most of the PMP exam questions fall in this type. So you should have a very systematic approach to handle such questions. First of all, you need to filter relevant and irrelevant information, to capture the real and relevant problem set. Once you are done with the extraction of the right information. you must try to read the answers and check whether the provided answer could be a possible option or not. This act will help you to eliminate the obvious wrong options. As a matter of fact, by ruling out the irrelevant you are shortlisting the possible correct answers. Then again you need to try to apply each possible correct answer and check whether it fulfils all the conditions given in the question or not.

Example

For example, you are working as a project manager to implement a project ABC. Your project requirements are in the execution stage. During your progress meeting on the overall status of the project, one of your project stakeholders asks you to implement a requirement. You also recognize that this requirement will add value to the project. What will be your best response to the stakeholder?

Such questions not only check your understanding of the concepts but also the applicability of these concepts as well as your experience in the domain of project management. So you need to focus on answering the question with the given information and your project management knowledge.

Formula-based questions

One very interesting type of question in the PMP exam is formula-based questions. There are almost fifty PMP formulas that you will need to know and understand prior to taking the PMP exam. The number of formulae is associated with different knowledge areas and domain areas. There are formulae associated with activity scheduling and costing, communications, indicators to assess project progress and value of the project.

An important thing to remember is that you will also need to know and understand all of the associated acronyms. You need to understand the applicability of these formulae. Also, you need to understand the acronyms used within each formula. On first look, you may find this variety of formula a bit harder or overwhelming, But as a matter of fact, once you understand the concepts these are like a breeze and you can easily learn them. After all your graduation degree has already taken you to a certain level where you may already have learned tot many during your education.

Just keep in mind that practicing the formula is the only way to remember. You must practice these formulae both sides i.e. forwards and backward so you can apply these formulae based on the given values in the question statement. In addition to this, a good grasp of the formulas may help you to more easily eliminate PMP exam question choices.

Example

For example, the Cost performance index can be calculated by using the formula CPI= EV/AC, provided we can find Earned value (EV) and Actual Cost(AC) from the given statement. Likewise, we can find EV = CPI * AC, or we can find situations where AC = EV/ CPI  is required using the same formula.

Be mindful that even if you know the formula, there is a room of silly mistakes if you are not doing step by step calculations or you take some preconceived notions. Sometimes it looks like you can do the calculations easily but rather than multiplying you just did a division. Try to avoid any such small mistakes. Even the answer options may be based on such mistakes so one can easily fall into the trap if not mindful.

The best advantage that is associated with the formula based questions is that once you identify the formula and apply it correctly within a given situation then there is only one correct answer. Also, it is important to bring your attention that sometimes you will have to solve the problem by not only using a single straight forward formula. You may need to apply multiple formulas to solve the problem. so you need to practice complex scenarios within your study plan.

Interpretational PMP Exam Questions

Another interesting dimension comes with the interpretational questions. These questions aim to test your ability to deduce a condition from the problem statement.

These require you to identify the meaning of the situation based on your understanding of the facts provided and will require you to apply the correct awareness for the correct answer. In other words, these questions require you to go a step further than knowledge-based questions. For instance, you are given some data in the form of a graph, performance indicator. So you can interpret the past, present, and future of the project. These questions will require your good understanding of the concepts as well as formula.

To answer these questions you must be able to decode a situation or condition from the given information in the form of status or problem. Therefore in order to prepare for such a question, you can run different scenarios while preparing for your PMP exam. For example, what is meant by a positive CPI and a negative SPI at the same time for a specific project? Does this situation mean a call for any corrective action or it is the best situation of the project?

You should also be able to understand the graphs like standard deviation. There are also other graphs in the form of quality management tools associated with the Quality Management knowledge area. What is the graph representation of negative correlation or what is the graph representation of positive correlation?

Technique-based PMP Exam Questions

In these types of questions, you will likely be tested for your understanding of specific techniques during a PMP exam question. A technique is “a defined systematic procedure employed by a human resource to perform an activity to produce a product or result or deliver a service, and that may employ one or more tools”.

These types of questions may require you to demonstrate your knowledge of a certain technique and its application. For example, you may be given a certain network diagram and asked to calculate the critical path.  Or you may be asked to calculate the floats on each node within the network diagram. In addition, you may be asked to do a forward pass or backward pass and calculate the critical path, even you may be given a sample data and asked to identify the critical path. In this case, you may have to draw the network diagram first to calculate the desired values and find the best result.

Example

In addition to this, you may be given a decision tree to find out the best option for return on investment. Or you are given a situation where you need to estimate based on PERT. So it may be knowledge-based where you can demonstrate your understanding of what a technique is used for. However, the PMP exam question can also test your understanding of how a technique is applied.

So this is a crucial part of your preparation where you not only know the techniques but you should have the knowledge to apply these techniques. You should go through the Tools and Techniques section of PMBoK, understand the purpose of each technique and the application. There are a variety of techniques mentioned in the PMBoK. Some are relatively easier to grasp whereas some require more practice. During your preparation for the PMP exam, you need to identify the gaps and keep on practicing unless you master these techniques to the extent of their applicability.

However, there are certain scenarios where you do not have to go into the fullest depth. As per my understanding, one must not necessarily apply the steps within Monte-Carlo analysis, but one should be able to interpret the result generated through this simulation.

Professional and social responsibility questions

There are a few questions that can come under this question type. Each professional body brings professional and social responsibility aspects to ensure the positive role of an individual. So these types of questions will test your understanding of the Project Management Institute Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. This may be tested through different techniques where it is reinforced and assessed that you have a good understanding of your professional and social responsibility.

PMI has identified four core values across the global project management community that are most important to project managers. These are:

• Responsibility
• Respect
• Fairness
• Honesty

In order to test these values, you may encounter several questions within your PMP Exam. There may be questions like one of your client offers you a free lunch what will be your best approach? Or one of your clients offers you a gift what will be your approach? Likewise, your integrity for sharing the actual status can be tested.

What is the PMP Exam Passing Score?

PMI has played around with the passing score several times. It is a common belief that 61% is the passing score for the PMP Exam. However, this is not an official pass rate so no hard carded passing score is available. Also, the passing score is subject to PMI discretion. The 61% passing rate was the reason for setting a benchmark based on the complexity of the PMP examination and success ratio with respect to the total exams.

The most important point to consider is what should be the percentage of practice tests. That can give you the idea of whether you are ready for the actual PMP Exam. I can safely recommend that PMP aspirants must score at least 70% in their practice PMP exams to guarantee their PMP success. The better the practice score, the better the chance to succeed.

What is the PMP Exam Pass Rate?

The PMP Exam rate means how many of the PMP exam candidates sit and pass the PMP exam. Like the PMP passing score, there is not an official score or percentage declared by the PMI for this either. So if any websites mention the rates or percentage, they are not the official ratings or scores of PMI.

As I mentioned earlier that the PMP Exam is not a simple exam, therefore there is more likely that the candidates have a higher tendency to fail the PMP Exam in their first try. That is the reason many training providers mention their money-back guarantees. In addition to this, some of the training provers also mention their full backing to the applicants. On top of this, they mention their success rates based on their trainees who sit in the exam and qualify.

If you properly plan your PMP Exam preparation through formal training and practicing, there is more chance of success. If you have practiced well the pass rate will not have much impact. The reason being a mere fact that you do not know how many candidates appear after proper preparation.

How Can I Apply for the PMP Exam?

There are two ways to apply for the PMP Exam based on the delivery type. The examination delivery type is either Computer-Based Testing (CBT) or Paper-Based Testing (PBT). These tests are based on demographic locations. As in some countries, computer-based testing is available whereas in others only paper-based testing is available. The preferred approach is Computer-Based Testing (CBT). In some areas, the Paper-Based Test (PBT) is the only way to take the exam unless you travel far from your location. It is recommended to apply online since the process is easier and faster.

The PMP Exam application comprises of the following steps;

Create a PMI Account at PMI.org

You can create your account at PMI.org through the registration link. Once you initiate the registration you will follow the instructions for creating the account. On completion, you will get confirmation from PMI.

Submit the online application

Once your PMI account is active, you can proceed to fill your PMP application on the PMI website. When you choose Project Management Professional (PMP) certification option in the certification navigation, you are required to follow the application wizard. Once you cover all the steps of application filling, you are able to submit the application.

Review of Application by PMI

Once you have submitted your application for PMP certification, it is reviewed by PMI. There is a chance that your application is selected for the audit. And there is also a chance that your application is confirmed without any audit requirement.

In case your application is not selected for audit, you are ready to go for payment submission. In case, your application is selected for audit, you are required to comply with the audit process so that your application is approved by PMI to further proceed.

Submit Payment

Once you have submitted your application for PMP certification, it is reviewed and approved by PMI. It completes your compliance for PMP certification eligibility criteria in terms of your education, training and relevant experience. You can now register for the PMP exam by paying the PMI examination fees.

Take the Exam

Once you submit the payment and it is acknowledged by PMI you can schedule and reserve your slot for the PMP exam within your nearest authorized center.

How can I pass the PMP Exam Application Audit?

Once you submit your PMP exam application to PMI, your PMP application will be approved by PMI. But another probability is that your application might be selected for the Audit process.

The PMP Audit process has a process of a random selection of PMP applications. In other words, The PMP may select an application at any point in time and ask the applicant to comply with the Audit process.  There is a small percentage of applicants have the chance of being randomly selected for an audit.

On first look, being selected for Audit may seem stressful, however, the audit is generally a simple process. All you have to do is provide evidence of what you declared within the application. So if you fill your application carefully, there should be no problem in providing the evidence.

In order to ensure your application compliance with the Audit process, you must send the following to PMI;

Proof of education

You will need to provide a photocopy of your degree certificate for the highest level of education completed. This is the criteria in which you specified your degree. As you already have the degree with you so not a big deal to get a copy and add it to your Audit response bundle.

Proof of 35 hours of project management education

Another criterion to sit in the PMP Exam is the 35 hours of project management education. Once you get training from a training provider, they must award you with a certificate of completion with 35 contact hours. All you have to do is get a copy of this certificate and add it to your Audit response bundle which you will send to PMI in response to the Audit selection.

Details of your project management experience

The third criteria to sit in the PMP Exam is your experience based on your degree of Education. This may take a bit of additional work but still pretty much straightforward. All you have to do is to get the Print out of the PDF documents from your audit package organized by PMI and mail your documents to your supervisors. They will have to verify and sign off on each form you have sent to them. After the signing off they have to send the forms back to you. After you receive all the forms form your supervisors you will also include them in your Audit response bundle.

Please note that you may have worked on multiple projects which may require sign off from relevant supervisors. So each of the specified supervisors needs to verify their relevant project. Also, the supervisors do not have to send the verified forms directly to PMI.

Once you acquire all these above items and include them in your response bundle, you will send the entire package to the PMI on the address provided by PMI. It generally takes PMI a week’s time to receive the package, and process the audit. Once the audit of your application gets clearance, you can schedule your PMP exam.

How Much Does the PMP Exam Cost?

There are three main costs of PMP exam:

• Training fee
• The fee of the PMP Exam
• PMP exam preparation time

PMP Exam Training Cost

The training is a mandatory requirement of the PMP Exam. Therefore you will first have to complete the PMP training of 35 hours. There are many training providers from which you can acquire the PMP training. Also, several training providers give training in various formats. Some choose a classroom or instructor-led setting, while others take online courses. These formats and training options bring a variety of prices as well. In-person PMP training options start from $500 and go up to $3,500 while PMP exam online training options start at relatively low cost.

You can read our Top 10 PMP Training post to see all PMP training options and ratings.

I think the provider with the ideal cost-performance ratio is Master of Project Academy. Master of Project Academy PMP Training is reasonably priced, additionally, they have several enrolment options which start from $87/month. Finally, Master of Project Academy PMP Training has a 99.6% first-attempt pass rate with a very good refund policy.

Exam Fee

Once you have completed the requirements pertaining to education, experience and 35 contact hours of training, you have to take the PMP exam in a Pearson VUE test center. Based on the acceptance of your application by PMI, you can schedule your exam date at your nearest Pearson VUE test center.

The PMP Exam has an associated cost. This cost varies depending on whether the applicant is a PMI member or not. The following table shows the PMP Exam fees distribution for PMI and non-PMI members. The table also displays the cost of re-attempt examination fees. These fees also vary whether the candidate is a PMI member or not.

The following table shows the PMP exam fees distribution for PMI members, non-PMI members and for re-attempt.

The PMP exam fee is 555 USD for the people who are not a member of PMI whereas the fee is 404 USD for the PMI members.  One important point I would like to mention; If you choose to become a PMI member at the time of your application, you will just have to pay 555 USD for the PMP exam fee and the PMI membership fee combined. If you do not opt to become a PMI-member, you will pay the same PMP exam fee as well. Therefore, I recommend you to opt for the PMI membership prior to initiating your PMP Exam application.

PMI Membership

PMI is a yearly membership. You will have to renew the membership after one year. The year start is effective from the date when your registration for membership is approved. PMI membership comes with its own cost. There’s a membership fee of $129 and a joining fee of $10. This cost is less then what you can save at the time of the PMP exam application as becoming a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) can drop your exam fee from $555 to $405. Re-examination attempt fees are also drops from $375 to $275.

To avail the benefit of PMI membership in the PMP exam you must be an active member at the time of registration for the examination. If you have applied for the PMI membership, you would require ensuring that your PMI membership is approved and activate. You will not avail of the benefit if your PMI membership is either not approved or expired.

What I have just mentioned above, is one benefit of becoming a PMI member. There are also some other benefits of being a PMI member. The PMI membership offers the following benefits to the members:

• You gain free access for downloading standards, guides and other valuable material relevant to Project management. This also includes the Project Management Body of Knowledge(PMBok). All the material is available on the PMI site pmi.org
• Variety of templates that help project managers
• Access to webinars and events
• Discounted price in the examination fees and re-examination fees
• Discounts price in the CCR renewal fees

PMP Exam Preparation Time

Once you complete the PMP Exam training and earn 35 contact hours to fulfil the PMP Exam criteria you are in the phase of self-study. You can opt to study the material prior to the PMP Exam training to get the basic concepts in line with your experience. This PMP exam preparation time is the intangible cost that you need to invest in terms of time and effort.

The training providers may also suggest the PMP Exam Preparation roadmap one can follow after their training. However, this duration is dependent on how much time you can spend on the PMP Exam training. This time may vary from 4 to 6 months based on your daily and weekly effort in terms of hours. You must be considerate especially when you are buying the online course as you can fully boost your roadmap once you purchase the online PMP course because the pace of the course study will depend on you.

How Can I Study for the PMP Exam?

There are a variety of training programs being offered for the project management aspirants. If you are also looking to achieve this milestone, you can look for training options in this regard. Many training providers offer a variety of mechanisms to provide the training. You can look for the following training formats as per your priorities. These formats include:

• In-person PMP Classroom Training
• Virtual PMP Training
• Online Training

These trainings are great events that prepare you for the certifications.

1. In-Person PMP Classroom Training

There are instructor-led classroom training offered by PMP training providers. These trainings generally have a duration of 4 days. Since these trainings are offered in specific locations depending on the premises arranged by the training providers if you want to avail of the trainings in this format, you need to check the availability of the courses at your nearest premises. Also, you need to adjust your schedule according to the training provider program offerings. This format of PMP training has certain advantages and disadvantages:

Pros

• You can directly interact with the experts
• You can interact with other enrolled students
• The training environment is well set for the learning
• You get a chance to work in groups, these group interactions enhance learning. Candidates learn not only from the trainer but also from the others.
• These classes will make you follow the schedule for learning.
• The classroom environment provides human touch rather than only technology

Cons

• It gets difficult to leave for the training out of your busy schedule
• You have to travel to the premises where the classroom training is offered which may cost you extra time
• These are one time trainings so once you miss the topic it may not be possible to grasp the topic in the same classroom fashion
• You can not repeat the lectures
• You may compromise on other critical activities to attend the classes

2- Instructor-Led Virtual PMP Training

Another option of getting the PMP exam training is through instructor-led virtual PMP training. These trainings generally are offered for a duration of 4 days. Such formats are offered on weekdays, and over the weekends. These trainings also award you 35 contact hours. Generally, weekday sessions start every Monday and end on Thursday. Weekend sessions start biweekly on Saturdays and end in two weekends (Saturday & Sunday). However such trainings are also scheduled by the training providers. So if you are interested in the Virtual PMP exam training you can see the schedule of the training provider.

Pros

• Long-distance learning
• Enhances collaboration and communication
• Real-time teaching and learning
• Effective and efficient time management
• Gives students and teacher a worldwide exposure
• Accessed to everyone equally from anywhere and at anytime
• Introduces students and educators to education technology
• Encourages digital and smart classrooms

Cons

• No control over the students or classroom
• No control over the learning atmosphere or environment
• You would need a computer and internet access, which might not be at hand every time
• Students lack real-time teaching experience

3-Self Paced PMP Training

Another alternative is self-paced learning which is 100% online. This training will also get you to earn 35 contact hours that are required to sit for the PMP exam.

These are the online lectures and learning material which are 24/7 available to the enrolled students. Generally, you get online access to the training material for a specific time of period depending on the package you avail from the training providers. You do not have to follow the schedule as is for in-person classroom trainings or virtual classroom trainings. So you do not need to wait or look for the scheduled offerings by the training providers to avail of this type of training.

Pros

• This is a very effective way of delivering courses.
• It is convenient and flexible, so the resources are reachable from everywhere, every time.
• If you are a part-time student or are working full time, you can benefit from this kind of web-based learning.
• Web-based learning promotes active and independent learning.
• No need to travel to attend any sessions
• You will have access to the course content 24/7, so you will be able to study anytime and anywhere.
• If you like, you can study on a day to day basis, but also on weekends or whenever you have available time. There is no fixed schedule.
• You have the option to listen to particular topics as many times as you want if you need it. This means your preparation will be quite effective. For instance, when you do a practice exam, then based on the results you might need to cover some specific gaps. This approach is highly effective to mark success in your PMP training.
• The courses are accompanied by learning activities and tasks.

Cons

• The online assessments are mostly limited to questions.
• The online learning programs might have a problem in terms of the extent of security.
• This type of learning also requires computers and internet access, which might not be at hand to everyone
• There is a lack of group-based learning
• It contains less human interactions and more technologic interactions

You can read our Top 10 PMP Training post to see all PMP training options and ratings.

Many training providers provider PMP exam trainings in different formats, also several provide all these options and you choose the most suitable for your needs. You can choose any of these formats depending on which format suits you or you are interested in. There are many service providers who offer the PMP Exam trainings in all these formats. But to cut it short here, I would recommend you go for a self-paced learning format. It provides you the flexibility and saves you from the hassle of time and location binding which is a great advantage in itself.

Choose a Comprehensive PMP Exam Training

PMP exam training programs play a vital role in the aspirant’s success in the PMP Exam. Therefore you must be careful when you choose from the available options. These training programs help you prepare a clear road map to follow. So you get a direction that you can follow to prepare for the PMP exam.

In addition to this PMP training helps you cover all the required topics to prepare for the PMP exam. You cover the project management framework, basic concepts of knowledge areas and processes with respect to the PMBOK published by PMI. When you cover all these concepts, you can be ready to improve your foundation.

It means that the right choice of PMP Exam Training is mandatory to achieve the PMP certification. Below are some questions that one can consider to choose the training provider:

• Does it provide me 35 contact hours?
• Which training formats are offered?
• Does it offer the flexibility of location and time?
• Does the curriculum cover the topics of the PMP Exam?
• Do they offer me training material to prepare more for the PMP Exam?
• What will be the duration of online access if I choose the e-learning format,?
• Will I get a certificate of completion to apply for the PMP exam?
• Will the PMP exam training help me assess my readiness with the help of exercises, quizzes, practice tests, mock sessions, etc.?
• What is the course fee? Is it cost-effective?
• If I fail in the PMP exam in my first attempt how will the institute support me?

You may refer to the article PMP Training – Top 10 PMP Training Program Review to get extensive details on the PMP Exam training options.

Should I Use PMBOK During My PMP Exam Preparation?

PMI has developed a standard PM Body of Knowledge (PMBok). That includes the foundation framework of all the processes required to manage the project. These processes are clumped together in the form of Process Groups and Knowledge Areas. In addition to this, the PMBok encompasses all the Tools and Techniques for each process within the overall framework. In other words, we can say that PMBok is the bible of project management as well as the PMP exam.

Hence, it is important to go through PMBok. It is not easy to read the PMBok, as there is high-level coverage of concepts, which makes it much theoretical. Most of the PMP exam materials are prepared inspired form the PMBok and more emphasis is given to the elaboration of these concepts. But how you would know that the PMP exam topics are well covered in the course material?

Even though it is not mandatory to follow the PMBok you need to consult PMBok to get the foundation of project management concepts. This way you can also be sure that the material is sufficient enough to cover the PMP exam as well as help you understand the concepts.

The PMP exam books and material helps you understand the theoretical concepts and practice these concepts in given real situations. If you wish to follow a PMP Book, you can follow a PMP exam prep book that focuses more on how to get ready for the PMP exam and pass in the first attempt. For reference, you can find a PMP exam preparation book published by Master of Project Academy.

Best Way to Get Ready for the PMP Exam

There are several ways you can opt to get ready for the PMP exam. Considering the variety of requirements, different training institutes provide trainings in more than one way. As we mentioned before they offer training in these formats:

1. Classroom instructor-led training
2. Virtual online training
3. E-learning

Each of these formats has its own pros and cons. One can way out these pros and cons and identify which suits them.

In my opinion, the online training format is the best training. My point is backed by different factors:

• The PMP aspirants generally have busy routines
• No one likes to pay too much for a course
• Why select an expensive option when you have the option of lesser cost.
• You can repeat the lecture any time so it is in your control on how many times you want to listen to a specific topic
• You can access the contents anywhere and at any time. No constraints or bounds of time and location.
• You do not have to travel to the course location and this saves you time and travel cost.
• You can run the course as per your time schedule so planning gets easier.

When is the Next PMP Exam Date?

The beauty of the PMP Exam is that its timing is not bound to a specific month or date. As mentioned earlier, the applicants once submit their application. It is either selected for the audit by PMI otherwise the application is approved. In case of an audit, the applicant has to submit the audit response package to PMI which may take a week’s time.

Any aspirant can submit their online application at any point in time. All the activities of the PMP Exam audit and eligibility of the PMP application are subject to the application submission. Therefore the aspirants can easily plan for the timing of their PMP Exam on the basis of their availability and preparation.

PMP Exam Schedule

Once your application is approved you will have a year’s time period in which you can schedule your PMP Exam. For this sake, you need to choose a Pearson VUE Test center and select your date & time slot if it is available within the test center. It is important to note that these test centers are not dedicated to the PMP Exam. These test centers also offer several other certification and language tests. Therefore, I recommend scheduling your PMP exam at least one month before your planned date to avoid the busy dates of the testing centers. After your successful allocation of the time slot in the VUE test center, the schedule of your PMP Exam is fixed. In short, your PMP exam date is based on your choice of schedule.

What Are the Knowledge Areas of the PMP Exam?

There are 10 PMP Exam Knowledge Areas:

• Integration Management – the processes that are required to ensure that the various elements of the project are properly coordinated.
• Scope Management – the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully.
• Time Management – the processes required to ensure the timely completion of the project.
• Cost Management – the processes required to ensure the project is completed within the approved budget.
• Quality Management – the processes required to ensure the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken.
• Human Resource Management – the processes required to make the most effective use of people involved with the project.
• Communications Management – the processes required to ensure the timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage, and ultimate disposition of project knowledge.
• Risk Management – the processes concerned with identifying, analyzing, and responding to project risk.
• Procurement Management – the processes required to acquire the goods and services from outside the performing organization.
• Stakeholder Management – the processes that identify and develops relationships with those people and organization which are impacted by the project and which influence or determine how the team works.

Sample PMP Exam Questions

To give you an idea of the PMP Exam questions, I have mentioned some questions below. These questions do not give you the idea of all the PMP Exam Question types but they can help you grasp the idea of questions how they look like so you can make your mind to read, extract relevant information, and apply the best suitable option in the PMP Exam.

Below are a couple of examples of PMP questions:

Question – 1:

A dashboard viewable by all project stakeholders displays various statuses using the industry standard of red, yellow, and green colors. Throughout project execution, to meet the needs of the project and some of the project stakeholders, the project manager has been adding more colors to reflect additional statuses. This situation has created confusion among some of the stakeholders over the status naming conventions and meanings. What should the project manager do?

• a) Add a simpler status for the stakeholders who are confused
• b) Remove statuses from the dashboard to avoid confusion
• c) Explain the meaning of the new statuses to the stakeholders
• d) Revert the status to an industry standard of red, yellow, green

Explanation: Project managers manage multiple stakeholders. Therefore it is important for the project managers to reflect the accurate information, with the required details, in the status reports. So the stakeholders get the latest on the project. If the project manager has added more colors and statuses based on the detailed reflection of progress, it requires the project manager to elaborate and clarify the purpose of these statuses to the stakeholders. Project managers do not need to delete any information for the sake of complexity. Also, project managers are not bound to follow the industry standards only, the purpose is that all the stakeholders should be on the same page when they read the status report.

Question – 2:

Bob is the project manager for a large construction project. He has just completed a Monte Carlo analysis simulation when he learns from a team member that some of the cost estimates used in the simulation were incorrect. Bob is highly risk-averse and concerned about this issue, so he meets with his team to discuss options for how to move forward. Based on this information, which choice below best describes what the team would likely do with the results from the Monte Carlo analysis?

a) Reject the results and use the triangular distribution technique instead

b) Use the results; the simulation data can still be of value because incorrect estimates are accounted for in the algorithm

c) Correct; Reject the results; the Monte Carlo results would be inaccurate and should not be used

d) Use the results but set aside additional contingency reserves to address the project risks

Explanation: Accurate cost estimates are the most important part of a Monte Carlo analysis. If the project estimates are too broad, or too narrow, the analysis may misstate the overall risk. In turn, this could create serious problems for project planning. Since inaccuracies in the cost estimates can significantly change the results, it is best for the project team to reject the Monte Carlo analysis results and re-run the simulation once they have a better estimate

Question -3:

Your Program Manager asks you to provide an Estimate at Completion for a small project you are working on. The budget at the start of the project was $30,000, and to date, you have spent $20,000. However, in this consumed amount, the worth of work done is only $10,000. On assessment, you ensure that the project team will be able to complete the project work at the planned rate. What is the value you will share as an Estimate at Completion?

a) $30,000

b) $60,000

c) $10,000

d) $40,000

Explanation; You have spent $20,000 out of which you have earned the value of $10,000 only. In other words, the project cost is overrun by $10,000 which actually did not contribute to the project worth. However, you are sure that the project team will complete the remaining work within the initially planned rate and the rest of the work will complete within, i.e the rest of the work will complete in $20,000 amount. Therefore, the overall budget at completion at the current stage will be $20,000 (for consumed)+ $20,000 (for remaining) = $40,000

Question – 4:

During a bidder conference, a supplier asks why a section is missing from the request for quotation (RFQ). The project manager, realizing that an aspect of the project is indeed missing, becomes confused about the mistake. When you receive the seller responses, all but three fail to address the missing section. What is the best course of action?

a) Send a revised RFQ to all prospective suppliers and allow them the opportunity to resubmit their proposals

b) Hold the bidder conference again, and explain the importance of the point that was initially missed

c) Extend the deadline and allow all of the vendors to resubmit their proposals

d) Select from the three vendors that submitted complete proposals

Explanation: In this scenario, it will be fair to send the new RFQ to all suppliers, then clarify the critical point that was previously missing, and subsequently receive the updated responses to the RFQ. It may not be practical or cost-effective to conduct another bidder conference, especially as other aspects of the project have already been covered in the prior bidding conference. Apart from fairness, re-issuing the RFQ ensures that requirements are understood. Another benefit of sending out a revised RFQ would be receiving more viable bids from other vendors. Therefore, of the available options, the best course of action for the project manager is to send a revised RFQ containing the new information to all prospective suppliers and allow them the opportunity to resubmit their proposals.

Question -5:

A construction company has just hired you. The construction company is about to start a large construction management program in an under-developed country. The project will be on a build-operate-transfer basis and have a duration of 2 years. At the close of the project, the local authorities will run the program. World Bank has sponsored the project. The project is awarded to an international consortium. Your company is one of the subcontractor companies. Other than you there are 2 more contractor companies. After the project scope finalization, you developed a cost estimate of USD $11 million. The sponsor reviews your detailed costing sheets and shows his concerns about the total cost figure. He tells you that the maximum allowable budget he can allocate for this project is USD $10 million. What should you do?

a) Begin the project with the intention of requesting a budget increase at a later point in time.

b) Advise the sponsor that the project can only complete within the available budget.

c) Ask for a reduction in scope.

d) Evaluate ways that can result in cost savings and re-estimate the project.

Explanation: There is no question about beginning the project with the intention to request a change at a later stage. Any change will have a rationale for induction and approval so nothing can be added without a justifiable reason. The scope of work is already agreed on based on the project objectives. Multiple companies are going to address these objectives as currently, you are at the negotiations stage. Therefore at this stage you need to first evaluate the ways that can save the cost.

How Can I Earn Free PMP Exam PDUs?

PDUs and contact hours are different terms but they might seem interchangeable on first look. So you must know the difference between these two. The contact hours refer to the PMP training of 35 hours which is a must for the PMP Exam. Whereas the PDUs stands for Professional Development Units. These PDUs refer to post-PMP professional development activities.

Even though you may find free PMP Exam training materials, these will not fulfil the 35 contact hours requirements. Obtaining the PMP contact hours is a pre-requisite of the PMP Exam, therefore it is mandatory for the applicants to obtain comprehensive PMP training.

Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR)

Once you have obtained PMP credentials, it is not the last milestone. PMP certification requires renewal every three years. The purpose of this is PMI’s Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program aiming to support the ongoing educational and professional development of the certification holders. So the professionals keep themselves prepared to meet the demands of a dynamic and complex business environment. Hence, you should look for PDUs if you already have PMP and trying to renew your PMP certification.

What Changes in the PMP Exam?

PMI conducts research to assess the progression of the project management field, the impact of emerging trends and changes in the responsibilities of project managers. Based on this research they publish new versions of either PMBok or PMP Exam Contents or both. But PMP exam changes do not mean that PMBOK will change as well.

This is a continuous activity that PMI performs. PMI conducted the last research in 2015. As an outcome of this research PMI defined the currently active PMP Exam Content Outline. In the same regard, PMI publishes a document on an updated outline of PMP Exam Content. Likewise, PMI announces the new PMP exam changes. However, these changes will not come into effect as of now. The new PMP Exam Content Outline provides the framework of what you can expect on the PMP Exam after 30 June 2020. The last day for candidates to take the current version of the PMP exam is now 30 June 2020.

The breakup of PMP Exam Questions

The following table depicts the changes in the domains and the proportion of questions from each domain that will appear on the examination. The table depicts the domains and their percentages within the PMP Exam Contents of 2015 and 2019.

New PMP Exam Focus

The new PMP exam focus on three new domains:

• PEOPLE – emphasizing the skills and activities associated with effectively leading a project team
• PROCESS – reinforcing the technical aspects of managing a project
• BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT – highlighting the connection between projects and organization strategy

It is highly important to note that the content spans over different approaches within these three domains; including predictive, agile and hybrid approaches.

These percentages determine the number of questions related to each domain and task that should appear on the multiple-choice format examination. Each domain contains tasks and PMP certification measures these tasks. In addition, the domain contains knowledge and skills. One requires this knowledge and skills to competently perform these tasks.

Updated Structure of the PMP Exam

The latest document published by the PMI specifies the updated structure for the PMP Exam Content Outline. Which is relatively easier to understand and interpret. In this outline, you will find the domains, tasks, and enablers.

• Domain: Defined as the high-level knowledge area that is essential to the practice of project management.
• Tasks: The underlying responsibilities of the project manager within each domain area.
• Enablers: Illustrative examples of the work associated with the task. Please note that enablers offer a few examples to help demonstrate what the task encompasses.

Example of People Domain

The following table is an example of the People domain which has 42% of contribution towards the total questions of PMP examination. The table depicts the Tasks and Enablers of People domain.

The effective date of new PMP Exam content

Even though the new PMP exam content outline is available, it is important to note the date of validity of the current version of the PMP exam and the effective date of the new version of the PMP exam.

Summary

In this article, I have provided information on various aspects that a PMP aspirant requires to understand in the process of PMP certification. We walked you through many interesting questions that any PMP aspirant is looking for. These questions are helpful for project management aspirants to initiate their journey towards project management certifications.

The high recognition and value of PMP certification make many people want to know more about the PMP credentials. In this article, we started with the advantages PMP brings to the certification holders, then we’ve talked about the PMP Exam requirements so one can assess their positioning on when they can get ready to apply for the PMP Exam.

We also discussed what is the PMP Exam looks like. On top of it, we have shared the idea about the PMP Exam passing score and Pass rate. Furthermore, we talked about the PMP Exam application. In addition to this, the article gives information on PMP Exam cost for PMI members and non-PMI members.

Afterwards, I also discussed how can you study for PMP Exam and also briefed on the PMP Exam registration and dates. Furthermore, the article also gives you a brief overview of PMP Exam Knowledge Areas and the PMP Exam questions.

As the new version of the PMP Exam is also due by the mid of the coming year the article also highlights the PMP Exam changes. So it is a good window of opportunity to go for PMP certification if you have initiated for the PMP Exam and you have pre-requisites including Education, PMP training and Experience.

I hope you found the relevant information in this article. I wish you the best of luck with your PMP Exam!

The post PMP Exam – Top 10+ Questions & Answers About PMP® Exam appeared first on Project Hipo.

Hence we will discuss the main factors that influence project manager salary. Furthermore, we will discuss how can you increase your salary if you are a project manager.

Project management is one of the complex fields in this technological era. Dynamic market trends bring many challenges to the organizations which are complex in nature. Therefore project managers who need to handle these challenges have to be well equipped. When they are ready to take up on these challenges, they become successful. However, these well-equipped professionals have their associated costs.

See our Project Management Training post.

Many organizations take initiatives to introduce new products and services in order to be trending market leaders because it brings them more market share. These organizations look for educated, certified, experienced domain experts so that the tendency to achieve success at higher rate increases. Project managers have the ability to lead the project teams throughout all the project phases from initiation to closing as the projects play a key role to meet the organization’s sustainability in the dynamic environment.

So if you are a project manager you must prepare yourself to be the best fit for these organizations. You need to be the best in what they are looking for. There are certain aspects to assess yourself. The following questions can act as the measuring yardstick for you: Does your education meet the minimum criteria set by these organizations? Are you an experienced project manager? Do you hold any project management credentials? Do you have the required industry domain knowledge?

Top 5 Factors Affecting Project Manager Salary

In this section, we will highlight the significant factors that affect project manager salary.

1- Industry Aspect of Project Manager Salary

There is not only a single industry that needs project management discipline. All industries focus to empower their project management skills in order to make their portfolios, programs and projects highly successful. Whether you are working for pharmaceutical, energy, aerospace, manufacturing, finance, information technology, all of these industries require project managers and project teams to ensure successful projects. So the project manager must have associated with an industry.

Education plays a vital role in the expertise of the domain. Therefore the organizations with different domains have their specific need for project managers. A construction-based organization will look for the candidates who have civil engineering or equivalent degree. Likewise, financial firms will be on the lookout for candidates who have a financial degree. So that the industry-specific foundation is already part of the knowledge and skills of the project management candidates. The good part is that such companies may also look for candidates who have knowledge of relevant functions. Like if these companies are filling in for the positions of information technology project managers they will look for project managers with IT background and prefer the industry-specific experience. Similarly, if the Oil and Gas sector company is looking to hire project managers they may focus on chemical engineers.

If you are planning to pursue your career as a project manager your degree will play a vital role. Therefore you should plan your education with respect to the industry. This will set your foundation step for the specific industry and as we’ve already mentioned the project manager salary will depend on the industry. For instance, the average salary in the IT industry is more than that of a project manager in the entertainment industry.

2- Experience Aspect of Project Manager Salary

Organizations hire experienced project managers. Because the experienced project managers are the ones who have gone through many challenging situations and have transformed them into success. This is a big plus for the organization. If you are working for a consulting organization, your experience will be a big plus for the organization as your profile is more sellable by the client organizations. It means that your profile is more sellable for your organization.

The salary of the fresh candidate is on the lower ranges and with the passage of time while you gain experience your PM salary will increase accordingly. In other words, we can say that your project manager salary is directly proportional to your experience. But only to a certain level! When you achieve higher grades and salary ranges this proportion will not remain the same. So having more experience will not bring more PM salary in correlation with your further experience after some years.

If you want to advance your project manager salary through experience, the only way is to acquire it. Experience comes with the passage of time but you can enhance your skillset inline with your future endeavors while you are experiencing the challenges within the current projects. Each step you take to handle such challenges adds to your experience whether it is a success or a failure for a specific activity.

At the end of the day, you have applied tools and techniques to handle the projects and learned out of it. Also, you have gone through various challenges and handled them to bring clarity from vagueness. Some of the challenges include poorly defined goals, unrealistic deadlines, scope creep, insufficient team skills, improper communication, geographically dispersed teams, risks and threats, diverse culture management.

3- Skills Aspect of Project Manager Salary

Another most important factor to advance project manager salary is the skillset they obtain with time. Soft skills required by project managers to lead the project teams and manage stakeholders are vital factors. On top of this, the technical skills are the influencing factors too. For example, if the job is related to construction project management, having drawing skills or planning tools knowledge will bring additional value to your resume.

Similarly, if the job is pertaining to infrastructure project management, having skills of networking, designing networks, setting up data centers, managing infrastructure equipment will be a major plus for your job consideration.

If you want to pursue your career as an IT infrastructure project manager the skills related to the data center, virtualization, IT Service Management, Networking, and Wireless may be a value-added to your project manager salary. If you are part of an IT Team you can aim to obtain Business Skills, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Application Development, DevOps.

This means that skills are an important aspect of the project manager selection and PMP salary. Your project manager salary depends on the soft skills and technical skills you have. If you want to enhance your project manager salary, it definitely requires you to focus on your soft as well as technical skills.

If you want to advance your salary and career, you must attain education in the domain that you are pursuing your career. Education is the must-have and best to have to get the required skill set. You can earn new skills by attending project management courses.

Project management is one of the most complicated fields of work. Be prepared for a true adventure you’ll never get bored of! There is no space for dullness in this profession. A project manager (PM) is responsible for leading an entire project through initiation, planning, execution, control, and completion.

4- Project Management Certification

There is a vital distinguishing factor in project manager salary advancement. This factor is the project management certification. It is globally accepted that PMP certified professionals have the project management skills to complete projects on time, within scope and budget.

Project Management Institute (PMI) offers the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. PMP is a globally recognized professional certification. It is an approval of project management knowledge and experience. PMP carries the reputation of being the best option for project management aspirants.

The market positions the PMI certifications in a very conscious way. PMI is much well-known for its Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate. PMI has more than 470,000 members in 207 countries, which make them the world’s largest project management association, and it has globally certified more than 740,000 PMPs. This is the mere fact to grasp the importance of PMP and it is also an indicator of PMP certified professional induction trends in the market.

PMP Certification and Project Manager Salary

The best thing you can do to take advantage of this value-adding factor is to obtain the PMP credentials. As if you are interested to advance your career in the field of project management, there is no best way other than earning the PMP Certification.

PMP certification requires you to have relevant knowledge and experience of the project management processes. Undoubtedly, a serious effort is needed to obtain the PMP credentials. A PMP certification means that you have a passion for attaining your targets. The PMP certification displays your skills, efforts, knowledge, experience, and reliability. It is also helpful for you to earn respect from your peers and team members. When you compare its benefits you will realize that all the effort is worth to attend a PMP training and obtain PMP certification.

One of the lucrative advantages PMP brings to the project managers is an advancement in the project manager salary. According to an independent survey, PMP holders are drawing more than 20 percent salary as compared to their non-certified counterparts. However, this is an average and it can vary depending on your experience, skills, and industry. PMP certification brings a great return on investment you spend on the certification activities. In other words, the investment you make on the PMP certification takes you to the next level with tangible benefits throughout your career span.

According to the PMI salary survey 11th edition, the majority of survey respondents (82%) have the PMP certification. PMP certification holders report higher median salaries in most countries included in this study; however, this varies widely from country to country. PMP tenure also plays a role. Among survey respondents in most countries, the median salary steadily increases with the length of time one holds a PMP certification.

You must attend in a 35 contact hours project management education to be eligible to sit for the PMP exam. Read about PMP certification requirements. If you are in the early steps of your project management career, you can consider sitting for CAPM exam and getting CAPM certification first, which is the entry level project management certification of PMI.

5- Urgency for Vacancy

Another aspect is the urgency of the organization to fill in the vacancy. This can be a good opportunity to get a good salary range. As in this case, they can offer up to 20% more than the defined salary range for the position. If you are the right fit that the employer is seeking for a long time or wants to employ asap, you can get more salary than you expect.

Though the urgency for a vacancy within an organization is beyond the applicant’s control, however, the best an applicant can do is ensure the readiness with the value-adding factors on the profile like education, certification, skills and technologies, and domain expertise. If you have these factors you can bag the upcoming opportunities being the right fit for the job. This is the best you can do to find and capture such opportunities.

Project Manager Salary

There are various sources from where the information about the project manager salary can be acquired. These data sources include professional bodies, survey agencies, and recruiting agencies. These sources of data provide project management practitioners a greater awareness of their earning potential. Hence they are very beneficial for employers, candidates, human resource departments, compensation committees, and executive recruiters for determining the market trends and salary ranges.

PMI Project Manager Salary Survey

One of the most prominent is the Project Management Institute (PMI) itself. PMI releases project manager salary surveys and publishes them biennially. The latest they have released is the 11th edition “Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey”. This survey highlights a significant advantage in earning potential for project management professionals. According to the survey, respondents with a PMP certification reported higher median salaries than those without a PMP certification – 22% higher on average across the 42 countries surveyed.

One interesting factor of the survey is the expansion of the horizon. As in this edition, PMI includes project manager salary information from five countries that were not previously covered. These countries include Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Portugal, and the Russian Federation.

Furthermore, the survey spans across the globe with a huge number of participants. So more professionals and aspirants can get the idea of their relevant countries. In this survey, PMI incorporates information from more than 32,000 project management practitioners in 42 countries across the globe. This makes the survey quite comprehensive offering insight into the value of project management skills, experience, and certifications.

When converted to U.S. dollars using normal exchange rates, the median project manager salary varies considerably among project practitioners from country to country. Switzerland (US$132,086), the U.S. ($116,000) and Australia (US$101,381) are the countries where project practitioners report the highest median salaries.

Similar to median salary variations, the rate of project manager salary increase varies extensively from country to country. However, in virtually all countries included in the survey, project manager salary increases when practitioners are tasked with more responsibility. The most significant increase is in the Philippines. There, the median salary increases from US$17,247 for a project manager I to US$24,524 for a project manager II and US$36,167 for a project manager III.

Recruiting Agencies

There are various other surveys and data available on the recruiting agencies websites like Indeed and Glassdoor. One of them is Indeed which calculates the average project manager salary based on data submitted anonymously to Indeed by Project Managers, users, and collected from past and present job advertisements in the last three years. The level of experience for project management typically is 1 –  3 years. So the salary ranges are much higher for senior project managers.

Project Manager Salary by Countries

In this section, we will share with you the salaries from the aforementioned data sources for different countries. The purpose of sharing this data is not the compare the different counties and locations. It is also important to keep in consideration that each country and location have its own cost of livings and other economic factors.

United States

Based on the data collected from 8,967 respondents from the United States who participated in the PMI survey, the median project manager salary in the United States is $$116,000. Like other countries, the project manager salary increases with more years of experience.

The professionals with less than 3 years of experience get $83,000 average whereas the professionals with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get average project manager salary of $90,000. The ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $103,407. Professionals with the experience of 10 to 15 years get $120,000 on average. The ones with experience ranging from 15 to 20 years get $126,690. Finally, the professionals with more than 20 years of experience get $135,000.

Likewise, according to Indeed, the average salary for an IT Project Manager is $92,862 per year in the United States. These project manager salary estimates are based on 1,431 salaries submitted anonymously to Indeed.

Australia

According to the PMI project manager salary survey, there were 818 respondents from Australia who participated in the survey. According to the results, the median PM salary in Australia is $101,381. The project manager salary varies with years of experience. The professionals less than 3 years of experience get a median salary of $68,763. The ones with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get $71,231 on average. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $91,684. Professionals with the experience of 10 to 15 years get $101,205 on average. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get $117,778. Lastly, professionals with more than 20 years get $126,946.

And according to indeed.com, the average salary for a Project Manager is $127,888 per year in Australia. Project manager salary estimates are based on 3,525 salaries submitted anonymously to Indeed.

Canada

The data is collected based on 2,869 respondents from Canada who participated in the PMI survey. According to the survey, the median project manager salary in Canada is $73,355. Like other countries, the project manager salary varies with years of experience.

The professionals less than 3 years of experience get a median salary of $55,016. The ones with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get $58,684 on average. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $67,487 Professionals with 10 – 15 years of experience get $77,023 on average. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get  $84,358. The professionals with more than 20 years get $90,000.

According to indeed.com, the average PM salary is $77,974 per year in Canada. Project manager salary estimates are based on 1,683 salaries submitted anonymously to Indeed.

United Kingdom

Based on the data collected from 739 respondents from the United Kingdom who participated in the PMI survey, the median PM salary in the United Kingdom is $83,410. But it depends on the years of experience.

The professionals with less than 3 years of experience get $57,305 average. Whereas the professionals with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get an average salary of $64,945. The ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $77,145. Professionals with less 10-15 years of experience, on average, get $82,773. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get $92,961. And the professionals with more than 20 years of experience get 101,875.

Likewise, according to Indeed, the average salary for a Project Manager is £43,940 per year in the United Kingdom. Project manager salary estimates are based on 26,702 salaries submitted anonymously to Indeed.

Europe (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands)

France

The data is collected based on 792 respondents from France who participated in the survey. According to the survey, the median salary in France is $68,663.

The professionals less than 3 years of experience get a median salary of $46,920. The ones with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get $56,647 on average. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $64,658. Professionals with less than 10-15 years of experience get $72,096. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get  $75,300. And the professionals with more than 20 years get $88,118.

Germany

Based on the data collected from 988 respondents from Germany who participated in the survey, the median project manager salary in Germany is $96,987. The same pattern of experience applies here, the project manager salary varies with the years of experience.

The professionals less than 3 years of experience get median salary of $69,464. The ones with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get $74,385 on average. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $89,834. Professionals with less who are experienced for 10-15 years get $98,417. The ones with experience ranging from 15 to 20 years get $109,289. And the professionals with more than 20 years get $114,438.

Italy

The data is collected based on 1,131 respondents from Italy who participated in the survey. According to the survey, the median PM salary in Italy is $57,219 but it varies with the years of experience.

The professionals less than 3 years of experience get a median salary of $45,775. The ones with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get $48,064 on average. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $51,497. Professionals with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get $57,219. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get $62,941. The professionals with more than 20 years get $69,807.

Spain

The data is collected based on 1,308 respondents from Spain who participated in the survey. According to the survey, the median project manager salary in Spain is $52,642.

Let’s look at how the salary changes according to experience. The professionals less than 3 years of experience get a median salary of $40,053. The ones with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get $43,487 on average. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $49,781. Professionals with 10 – 15 years of experience 57,219 on average. The ones with experience ranging from 15 to 20 years get  $61,797. And the professionals with more than 20 years get $67,519.

Netherlands

Based on the data collected from 347 respondents from the Netherlands who participated in the survey, the median salary in the Netherlands is $93,839.

The professionals with less than 3 years of experience get $63,22 on average. Whereas the professionals with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get an average salary of $77,646. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $86,401. Professionals with 10 – 15 years of experience get $101,166. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get $108,716. And the professionals with more than 20 years of experience get $102,995.

Gulf Region (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar)

Qatar

Based on the data collected from 283 respondents from Qatar who participated in the PMI survey, the median salary in Qatar is $81,6681. The same pattern of experience applies here, the project manager salary varies with the years of experience.

The professionals less than 3 years of experience get a median salary of $$61,904. The ones with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get $76,767 on average. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $65,334. Professionals who worked for 10 to 15 years get $$88,201. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get $100,043. And the professionals with more than 20 years get $122,501

According to Indeed, the average salary for a Project Manager is QAR 17,067 per month in Qatar.

Saudi Arabia

The data is collected based on 542 respondents from Saudi Arabia who participated in the PMI survey. According to the survey, the median PM salary in Saudi Arabia is $63,944. 

The professionals less than 3 years of experience get the median salary of 38,366. The ones with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get $53,286 on average. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $57,549. Professionals with 10 to 15 years of experience get $76,999. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get $95,916. And the professionals with more than 20 years get $88,242.

United Arab Emirates

The data is collected based on 602 respondents from the United Arab Emirates who participated in the PMI survey. According to the survey, the median PM salary in the United Arab Emirates is $81,665. But the project manager salary depends on the years of experience.

The professionals less than 3 years of experience get a median salary of $48,999. The ones with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get $65,332 on average. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get 70,776. Professionals with 10 – 15 years of experience get $94,972. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get  $114,330. And the professionals with more than 20 years get $133,658.

India

The data is collected based on 885 respondents from India who participated in the survey. According to the survey, the median PM salary in India is $28,750. 

The professionals less than 3 years of experience get a median salary of $21,563. The ones with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get $22,389 on average. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $25,875. Professionals who have 10-15 years of experience, on average, get $32,894. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get $35,938. And the professionals with more than 20 years get $51,750.

And according to Indeed, the average salary for a Project Manager is ₹ 31,516 per month in India. Salary estimates are based on 1,839 salaries submitted anonymously to Indeed.

Singapore

Based on the data collected from 783 respondents from Singapore who participated in the PMI survey, the median salary in Singapore is $71,279. The same pattern of experience applies here, the salary varies with the years of experience.

The professionals with less than 3 years of experience get $50,233 on average. Whereas the professionals with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get an average salary of $54,559. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $65,999. Professionals experience ranging from 10 to 15 years on average get $77,366. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get $91,666. And the professionals with more than 20 years of experience get $100,466.

According to indeed.com, the average salary for a Project Manager is $6,238 per month in Singapore. Salary estimates are based on 1,594 salaries submitted anonymously to Indeed.

Russian Federation

Based on the data collected from 240 Respondents from the Russian Federation who participated in the survey, the median salary in the Russian Federation is 34,541. The same pattern of experience applies here, the project manager salary varies with the years of experience.

The professionals with experience ranging from 3 to 5 years get average project manager salary of $$29,120. And the ones with the experience from 5 to 10 years get $34,512. Professionals with 10-15 years of experience get $41,702. The ones with experience ranging from  15 to 20 years get $36,238.

Project Manager Salary by Industries

Similar to experience, the industry in which an individual pursues their project management career has an influence on the project manager salary range. The following table depicts the average project manager salary of some of the industries. So you can get an idea about the variation in salaries based on different industries within different countries.

The below data depicts salaries of 25 percentile based on respondents of the PMI survey within different countries. The salaries are mentioned in the country-wise currency so the aim is again not the compare the salaries but to give you an idea of the salaries within the countries.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed the project manager salary and the five main factors which can influence the project manager salary. Then we discussed each of the factors that include industry, experience, skills, education, certification. The organizations look for educated, certified, experienced domain experts because these experts have the tendency to achieve success at a higher rate.

The article also highlights project manager salary trends based on the data from different sources so you can plan your career considering the available facts. The salaries vary based on countries, experience, skillset requirement and industry in which you are working.

We hope you found this article helpful to get the overall idea of project manager salary and you found patterns that can help set your goals and pursue a project management career.

The post Project Manager Salary – How Can I Increase My PM Salary? appeared first on Project Hipo.

PMP Salary – How much will I earn after I get PMP?

In this article, we will give an overview of the PMP certification. What factors affect the PMP salary? We will also share the salary range of PMP certified professionals across the globe. This will help you to decide whether to go for PMP certification or not. Further, you will be able to explore the ROI of PMP certification.

Undoubtedly, projects are dynamic in nature. Hence, they change the world and the change agents are PMP certified individuals. You can mark it as one profession where demand for skilled practitioners is always high and life is never dull. It is projected that over the next decade, there will be a demand of 88 million people for the project management roles.

It is quite obvious that any individual or professional works for knowledge, experience, growth in career and last but not the least money. We often come across our friends who are working as a project manager and earning a handsome salary. Some professionals have climbed the ladder from a junior position to a senior one as a project manager. Another way they have adopted is to attain a recognized project management certification and achieve a senior position as a project manager. This is where PMP certification comes into the picture.

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification

PMP is a globally recognized professional certification. This certification is offered by PMI, the Project Management Institute. PMI is a non-profit professional organization. PMP is a well recognized and respected credential and it is considered vital for the project managers. Especially for those who want to take their career further.

When you have the PMP certification, you also have the global standards of excellence for validating the crucial skills and knowledge in a project management team. PMP has worldwide recognition irrespective of industry, profession or geographical scope of operation. Moreover, the PMP certification is truly a valuable asset A well recognized and respected credential, because it will help you to initiate, plan, execute, monitor, control and close a project successfully across the various industries.

The PMP certification is the most important credential for project managers recognized by any industry. Recognized and requested internationally, the PMP shows you have the expertise, training, and skills to lead and direct the project. This recognition can be seen through increased employer marketability and a higher salary. Also according to the survey of the Project Management Institute, PMP positively impacts project manager salaries by an average of 23% more than their non-certified colleagues.

Let us talk about some of the benefits of PMP certification!

Benefits of PMP Certification

1. Higher Salary

PMP Certification gives an added advantage of an increase in salary and higher earning potential. Besides, it increases the chances of advancement in your career down the line.

2. Better Job Opportunities

The demand for project managers is outpacing the supply in many industries. Hence, job opportunities will be more and better for those who have training, experience, and knowledge possessed by PMP certified individuals. PMP Certification adds value to the resume.

3. Credibility in the Market

Having PMP certification in the resume adds credibility to your experience, skillset, knowledge base and commitment to your career.

4. Better Networking

As a PMP certified individual and a member of PMI, you get more opportunity to network with other project managers in your domain, industry and across the globe.

5. More Challenging Projects

PMP Certification can open new doors to opportunities for more challenging projects, greater responsibility, embrace and overcome new challenges.

6. Job Security

With changing technology, job security has become an issue. But still, project managers continue to be in high demand especially PMP certified individuals. PMP certification will give you greater confidence to be valuable to current employers. It validates your dedication to the job.

7. Applicable to Any Industry

Project Management is not limited to one industry. Likewise, PMP certified individual’s knowledge can be used in any leading sectors like Manufacturing, Construction, Oil and Gas, Finance, Insurance, Information Technology, etc. Organizations in different domains seek qualified and talented professionals so as to ensure that projects are executed with excellence. Besides, this certification provides industry recognition.

8. Enhances Knowledge and Skills

PMP Certification helps you learn important skills, tools, and techniques required to excel in your career.

9. Global Recognition

PMP Certification holds credibility in more than 90 countries worldwide. The global community recognizes PMP certification as highly valuable. It indicates a level of experience and qualification compared to non-certified professionals.

10. Builds a Healthy Environment

PMP Certification builds an organized and productive culture. This further embraces project management and increases business value.

What Affects PMP Salary?

Looking at strategic projects from inception to completion, project managers have the ability to increase a company’s efficiency, productivity, reduce the cost and generate high revenues. As per a recent survey, 97% of organizations strongly agree that project management is critical to the success of the organization. Thus they are willing to pay for it. However, PMP salary depends upon several key factors such as Certification, Industry, Experience and Education, Position, Skillset and Region or Location.

The first and foremost factor that affects the salary of the project manager is PMP certification.

PMP certification will itself gives an average of 23% more salary than a non-certified individual. However, this is an average percentage that will vary further depending upon your experience, skills, and industry.

Besides, PMP certified project managers demonstrate to employers that they have skills and knowledge to successfully manage project and team.

Especially in countries like South Africa, PMP holders have a 58% higher median salary than the non-PMP certified holders. In South Africa, the median salary of a PMP holder in USD is $ 75,392 and the salary of a non-certified employee is $47,868.

Moreover, PMP tenure also plays a vital role in regard to salary. It is quite observed that the median salary steadily increases with the length of time one holds a PMP certification.

Other factors that influence the salary apart from PMP Certification are:

1. Type of industry or industry domain

2. Years of experience in project management

3. Skillset

4. Role or position in project management

5. Project team size and project budget

6. Region or location of the job

1. Industry Aspect of PMP Salary

Depending on the industry, PMP salary varies. It might change significantly.

For instance: According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), the topmost industry for PMP salary is Government. Due to the fact that projects are complex, they often require specialized knowledge of software resulting in making PMP salaries higher than average.

Besides, PMP salary is high in sectors such as Science, Technology, and Engineering owing to the rapid growth and demand in these industries.

On ranking the industries in descending order, PMP salary in the United States will vary as follows:

1. Pharmaceuticals (Highest)

2. Agriculture, Mining and Natural Resources

3. Consulting

4. Aerospace

5. Engineering

6. Oil, Gas, and Utilities

7. Government

8. Information Technology

9. Entertainment (Lowest)

Hence the average PMP salary in the IT industry is more than the entertainment industry.

2. Experience Aspect of PMP Salary

As it is quite obvious that more work experience you have, more it will impact the salary you will make as a project manager.

If you are an entry-level professional who is a leader and you attain PMP certification then you have an edge over others. Also, you will get a higher PMP salary. But, let’s suppose you reach a level of say 10 years experience then PMP is a default certification that every project manager has in their kitty. Hence, this PMP Certification will not add much increase in your salary.

These days, if you go through job sites and professional networking sites like LinkedIn, PMP certification is a must to have in job requirements of every project management profile.

Hence, it is almost not possible to find a project manager job without a PMP certification requirement.

Besides, if you have more than 10 years of experience and you don’t have PMP certification then already you have lost the competition from peers. However, if you are a PMP certified with more than 10 years of experience then PMP certification will not add much difference to your salary. Because almost all 10+ years of experienced project managers are PMP certified. Hence you as a project manager are no different from others.

Check our Project Management Training post.

According to the PMI 10^th Edition Survey, annualized PMP certification salary (in USD) in different countries by Years of Experience in Project Management is as follows.

Years of Experience in Project Management

3. Skills Aspect of PMP Salary

Your salary as a PMP certified also depends on the skills such as soft skills and technical skills you have.

For instance, if the job requirement is about project management in construction then having drawing skills or planning tools will bring additional value to your resume.

Likewise in the software industry, having knowledge of the language, coding, and software as a project manager is a huge advantage.

Similarly, if you have to work as a project manager in telecom or banking or healthcare sector then having domain knowledge of telecom or banking or healthcare sector will add value to your job.

4. Position Aspect of PMP salary

Regardless of industry and country, PMP salary increases along with responsibility. And responsibility increases with the position. Hence PMP salary increases in accordance with the position in the organization.

But it varies from country to country. It is observed that the most drastic increase in PMP salary is in Nigeria from project manager to senior project manager position i.e. from $13,079 USD to $30,305 USD.

Likewise in a country like New Zealand, median salary increases from $52,800 USD to $84,480 USD for a project manager in a senior-level position.

Similarly, in countries like Qatar, the median salary varies from $72,436 USD to $114,581 USD from one level of the project manager to another level.

5. Project Size

We determine the size of the project by the average number of team members and the average project budget. Hence a large number of team members and project budget constitutes a large project.

If you are managing a large project, then the median salary will be high in most of the countries. Also, variation in managing a large project vs. small project is quite significant from country to country.

6. PMP Certification Holders’ Salary by Location/Region/Country

The location also plays a vital role in PMP salary. PMP salary can have a huge impact depending upon where you physically choose to work within the US and worldwide. In fact, PMP salary will increase by $16,000 depending upon your location in the US.

Talking about the worldwide figures, highest median PMP salaries are in countries like Switzerland ($130,996), The United States ($112,000) and Australia ($108,593) whereas country with the lowest median salary is Egypt ($10,159)

According to PMI 10^th Edition Survey, Annualized Salary in (US Dollars) of PMP by country is as follows.

Annualized Salary in (US Dollars)

About the Project Management Professional Exam

PMP Exam is carried out by the Project Management Institute. The exam consists of 200 multiple-choice questions out of which you will be scored on 175 questions. Thus, 25 of those 200 questions are just pretest questions. The reason for these randomly placed questions is to validate them for inclusion in the future exam database.

The duration is 4 hours. 

The 3 points to remember for the PMP exam are:

1. First of all, this exam is not a test of the information in PMBOK Guide
2. Secondly, you cannot rely on real-world experience only
3. Last but not least, training in project management aligned to the PMBOK Guide is critical

There are 5 process groups defined for Project Management i.e. Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, Closing.

A project management process is what you need to do to manage the work throughout the project lifecycle. This includes managing the efforts related to initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling and closing the project.

Here is the distribution of PMP certification exam questions process-wise:

All the project management processes map to the following 5 process groups:

1. Initiating Process Group

Processes in this process group officially start a new project or a project phase.

Major activities include:

• Identifying and analyzing stakeholders to align their expectations about the project
• It provides a guiding vision for the project in terms of an organization’s strategic objectives, benefits, high-level scope, and known constraints.
• Here project gets officially authorized
• It provides the project manager with the authority and information necessary to begin the project

2. Planning Process Group

It involves walking through a project using a process, iterating your plans, and getting the project organized in sufficient detail before actually doing the work to produce the product of the project.

Major activities include:

• Establish the scope of the project
• Then, refine the objectives
• Further, define the course of action to attain the objectives that the project was undertaken to achieve
• Also, perform a detailed analysis of whether the objectives in the project charter and expected business benefits can be achieved.
• Finally, decide how the project objectives will be accomplished addressing all appropriate project management processes and knowledge areas

3. Executing Process Group

It involves completing the project work as defined in the project management plan to meet the project objectives and achieve the expected business value

Major activities include:

• Leading and managing the project
• Then, engaging the stakeholders
• Besides, working with the team to complete the work
• Further, following the processes
• Last but not least, communicating according to the plan

4. Monitoring and Controlling Process Group

Here, Monitoring and Controlling are combined into one process group. This process group involves processes to track, review, and measure the progress and performance of the project.

Monitoring requires the project manager to focus on how the project is progressing. On the other hand, Controlling requires evaluating the data on how the project is conforming to the plan and take action to address the variances outside of acceptable limits.

Major activities include:

• Firstly, assess how stakeholders are participating and communicating
• Besides, assess the work and uncertainties that have been identified
• Moreover, it identifies any areas where a change to the plan is required and initiate those changes
• Further, measure the work against other metrics in the project management plan to see how the project is performing
• Also, taking actions to correct any variance i.e. to recommend changes to the way work is being done
• Additionally, adjusting changes to the baselines to show more achievable outcomes

5. Closing Process group

Here processes are performed to formally complete or close the project, phase or contract.  

Major activities include:

• Administrative activities such as collecting and finalizing all the paperwork needed to complete the project
• Also, technical work to confirm that the final product of the project is acceptable
• Furthermore, work needed to transfer the completed project to those who will use it
• Finally, solicit feedback from the customer about the product and project

All the processes in the above 5 process groups help the project manager to run the project successfully from start to finish. Thus, s a PMP certified, you get thorough knowledge of all of these processes in 5 process groups. Hence, PMP certified individuals tend to make the success rate of the project higher thereby resulting in higher salaries.

The Cost of PMP Exam

The cost involved in the PMP exam includes the PMP exam fees + the cost of training for PMP certification + the cost of time and efforts spent in studying for the preparation of the PMP exam.

1. PMP Certification Exam Fee

This is the cost of the PMP exam itself and you have to pay it online at PMI.org after you have filled the application form and it is approved by PMI.

You get the benefit of saving money in exam fees if you are a PMI member.

To become a PMI member, you need to pay the membership fee of $129. This membership remains valid for 1 year. You can avail of multiple benefits such as accessing unlimited material, numerous resources like books, sample questions at the PMI site. You can attend free webinars that help you gain knowledge as well as earn PDUS. Further, this helps in networking among your peers and people across the region by attending local chapter programs and events.

• For PMI members, the PMP certification exam fee is 405 USD
• For non-members, the PMP certification exam fee is 555 USD

Hence, you get the double benefit of saving money and accessing unlimited PMP certification resources at the PMI’s website.

Further, you save $100 in the re-examination fee as a PMI member. That means if you are a PMI member and you do not pass the exam in the first attempt then the re-examination fee for PMI member is 275 USD and whereas for a non-PMI member, it is 375 USD.

2. PMP Certification Training Cost

The second cost is the training cost for the preparation of the PMP exam.

While filling the application form, one of the prerequisites to sit for the PMP exam is to have 35 contact hours.

You can earn 35 contact hours by attending project management education or project management courses from any recognized institute for 35 hours (approx 4 days).

Now there are 2 modes to attend the training either online training or classroom training.

• Classroom training has the advantage of face to face interaction with the instructor. You can resolve the queries directly.

The cost of classroom training varies from 450 USD to 2100 USD depending upon the country.

• Online PMP training has 2 modes i.e. self-learning or instructor-led training.

In self-learning mode, you have the flexibility to attend the training at your own location, pace, and timing

Whereas in instructor-led training, you have to be available as per the time slots of the instructor for PMP training. But you have the flexibility to attend from anywhere as you need to have a laptop and limited accessories like headphones to be online for that class.

The cost of online self-learning training varies from 200 USD to 600 USD. Whereas the cost of instructor-led training ranges from 750 USD to 3600 USD

3. PMP Certification Exam Preparation Cost

This is the indirect cost you spend during your preparation process for the PMP exam. The time required to prepare may vary from person to person depending upon experience, background in project management and time an individual can devote to prepare for the PMP exam.

For a working professional, you can plan for 3 months time wherein you have to spend 3-4 hours every day studying.

Summary

Undoubtedly, the PMP certification is one of the most popular, recognized, world-renowned certification in project management across the globe. Many factors such as certification, industry, years of experience, position, team size and budget, region or country play a significant role in PMP salary.

Moreover, PMP Salary varies from region to region within the US and across the countries. According to PMI surveys, PMP certification impacts project manager salaries by an average of 23% more than their non-certified professionals.

Hence, the best and quickest way for a project manager to get an increase in their salary is to acquire PMP certified status!

The post PMP Salary – What is PMP® Certification Salary? appeared first on Project Hipo.

PMI has set certain PMP certification requirements for the candidates. That candidates need to fulfill them in order to become eligible to sit in the PMP exam. These requirements are related to education, experience, and PMP training. The education and experience requirements are pretty much correlated. This correlation is stated in the PMI requirements. If you are an associate, you require 60 months of experience to be eligible. On the other hand, a person with a bachelor’s degree requires 36 months of work experience. In addition to this, you must have professional training that earns you 35 PDUs (professional development units). These PMP PDU hours are also termed as contact hours.

PMP Certification Benefits

One of the main PMP certification benefits is that PMP being globally recognized accreditation. Obviously, it is due to the fact that PMP holders have earned this accreditation which is possible only after the aspirants meet the PMI criteria of education, experience, and formal training. For this sake, the candidates have practiced and applied these practices in real-time situations. PMP certification exam is considered as a tough one, but only for those who have not put in the right effort to qualify the exam. All this effort pays off as PMP benefits once you are a certified PMP. Then you start enjoying the PMP certification benefits. What are these PMP certification benefits? Now we will list the top 5 PMP certification benefits.

1-) PMP Certification Benefits: It Is The World’s #1 PM Certification

One of the PMP Certification benefits is this means achieving the world’s number 1 project management certification. PMP credential is offered by the Project Management Institute. It’s been offered for more than 30  years. You are considered in the front line of the project management profession. You can get the idea of PMP certification benefits from the fact that there are around one million PMP certified professionals around the world. PMP is the most popular project management certification. There are various project management certification programs. But some of them are confined to a specific domain or geographical location. Whereas PMP has a global presence and it does not limit to a specific industry or location.

A project is a temporary endeavor which means that every project should have a start time and end time to carry out the specific endeavor. Therefore the projects have defined scope and other resources like time and budget. In a project team, there are often people who don’t usually work together. Even project teams are formed from various organizations, various geographies, and cultures. All these factors add to the complexity of the project. Project managers play a key driving role to implement the projects. They transform the chaos into clarity by the application of their skills and the right tools. The main objective of the project managers is to deliver on-time, on-budget results. Consequently, having the PMP certification means that they have these skills and know these tools.

PMP Certification Benefits – An endorsement of your skills

In project management, you apply the knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet the project requirements. PMP is an endorsement of the qualification of the project manager who can drive the project to success. Hence, as one of the PMP certification benefits, the companies recognize that certified managers are better at completing the project on time and within the budget.

If you are in the early stage of your professional experience and want to pursue your career in project management, then PMP certification will not only make up for the lack of experience. Moreover, it will also help you advance in the project management profession. In other words, PMP certification will take you to the next level.

You can also turn to more than 1,600 Registered Education Providers (R.E.P.s) for project management training and continuing development. PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC) has recognized nearly 100-degree programs in institutions worldwide. This is a mere indicator of the popularity and authority of PMP Credentials.

2-) PMP Certification Benefits -Advantage in Getting Project Management Jobs

Organizations look for skilled professionals as their expertise is critical to the success of the organizational initiatives. Many organizations take initiatives due to a variety of reasons. These reasons may include:

• technology advancement,
• process re-engineering,
• environmental factors like sustaining as a market leader,
• or even to meet statuary requirements

All such factors pose a lot of pressure on management to meet and exceed these objectives. Hence organizations look for the key players who can successfully achieve their objectives. For this sake organizations are quite choosy to filter the ones who have furbished their resumes with the demonstrable skill set. PMP certification is a way to demonstrate your knowledge and skills. As one of the most important PMP certification benefits, PMP brings this tag value to your resumes. Hence it makes you a prominent and most suitable applicant for the PMP jobs.

In other words, we can say that the recruiters, looking to fill in the position of a project manager, use it as a filter criterion and prioritize the profiles with PMP credentials. When recruiting agencies fill in the positions for their client organizations, they tend to prioritize the resumes with PMP credentials over those who do not hold them. Because they are well aware of the worth of the PMP credentials. The value-adding factors include:

• practical demonstration of well-set project foundation,
• ability to groom and achieve,
• good understanding of the common language for the project managers and higher-ups.

Growing trends in Project Management

As one of the PMP certification benefits, we can say that the demand for certified PMPs is growing in recent years at a very fast pace. It is also expected that this demand will grow at a faster pace than earlier. According to Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap analysis, the demand over the next 10 years for project managers is growing faster as compared to the demand of workers in other fields. According to the report, employers will need nearly 88 million individuals in project management-oriented roles.

These demands reflect the opportunities to advance your career in the project management discipline. More opportunities mean more options and more rewards. So if you want to keep growing and be successful, you need to align yourself with the best practices as well as the latest trends so that you can get better at what you are doing. When you obtain the PMP certification, you have set your standards to improvise based on a solid foundation. That will enable you to focus on your growth. In other words, the PMP certification will always make you prominent and need, once compared to other individuals at your experience level. So, we can include this in PMP certification benefits as well: PMP is an enabler of fast-paced growth within your career.

3-) PMP Certification Benefits – You Earn ~20% More

PMP certification has high standards and passing a PMP exam is not a piece of cake. You need to practice and make sure that you are ready to crack the exam. Therefore PMP certificate is an endorsement; that you have a good foundation of the project management framework along with education and experience. So this gives you an edge over the others who are not certified.

One of the main PMP certification benefits is that you get a salary advancement. PMP has been one of the highest-paid certifications. Also, the demands are indicative that the trend will keep on growing in the future as well.

According to another report, individuals holding PMI’s globally recognized Project Management Professional (PMP) certification have observed significant earnings increases in most countries. So as one of the PMP certification benefits, we can say that the PMP credential holders earn almost 22% more than their non-certified colleagues at the same experience level.

Factors Impacting Project Management Salary

According to the report, salaries depend on a number of key demographic factors. These factors include:

• Country of employment
• Number of years of experience in project management
•  Position/role
• The average size of projects managed, it includes the average budget and average team size.

According to the report, Switzerland, the United States, and Australia are the countries with higher median salaries. The median salaries in these countries are $132,086, $ 116,000, and $ 101,381 respectively.

In addition to this, the median salary increases based on position. For instance, in the United States, the median salary for the director of PMO is $144,000. And the salary for the portfolio manager is  $138,000, Likewise, the salary for the Program Manager is $125,000. And the salary for project manager III is $115,000.

Similarly, there is an impact of project size on the salary base don the project size. These also vary significantly from country to country. Another factor is the length of time of holding PMP certification.

Once you are a PMP certified project manager, you surely become an asset to your organization. Many consulting organizations even get value addition due to the PMP certification, it adds strength to their management force. Hence companies are willing to reward for the certification as they also get the advantage of their highly skilled force.

4-) PMP Certification Benefits – Common Project Management Language

Project management is multi-disciplinary and applied in several industries. The challenges of handling the projects very much rely on the skills of project managers. Hence these industries focus to empower their project management skills so they can succeed in their portfolios and programs.

The examples of industries include:

• pharmaceutical
• energy
• aerospace
• manufacturing
• finance
• information technology

All of these industries require key players to accomplish their projects. These key players include project managers and project teams. Therefore, whichever industry you are working in, you can excel in the project management field. For instance, a construction-based organization requires project managers with the education of civil engineering.

Similarly, the projects are also carried out among different locations with cross-cultural aspects. Many times multi-lingual aspects are to be taken care of. Many large projects are taken up as joint ventures of multiple companies with multiple cultures. In addition to this, there is another aspect of stakeholder management when projects are awarded across the globe. So the management of these outsourced endeavors needs to collaborate with the management of implementing organization. Project stakeholders are also at various levels of knowledge, culture, and experience. These varying factors bring the question of common understanding and language among the project teams.

PMP Certification Benefits = Common Lexicon

PMP highly recognizes the need to sort these gaps in communication. As one of the PMP certification benefits, we can say that it brings the PMP holders in a common platform of communication at various levels. This resolves the gaps and provides the best solution for a common platform for better understanding. Once the understanding is under one umbrella, so is the case for better communication. Communication is key to successful project management. One of the PMP certification benefits is that it brings a set of standardized vocabulary that you can speak across the board. When you refer to a project management term, it is understood by others as well. PMI has aligned all the professional certifications they are offering for project management. These include:

• Program management,
• Project management,
• Certified associate of project management,
• Certified Agile practitioner

All of these have a common business language. So everyone stays on the same page. PMI brings a common Lexicon of Project Management Terms. This lexicon offers a very clear and concise set of definitions of frequently used terms. These terms are used across various management levels and industries. So Lexicon is an essential tool that brings common and consistent usage of terminology. These standard terms promote better communications among project teams. No doubt! It is one of the main PMP certification benefits.

5-) PMP Certification Benefits – Following Emerging PM Trends

PMP certification requires you to earn 60 PMP PDU hours every three years to retain your certification. This pushes PMP certified professionals to follow new events, attend seminars, courses, and other events that will earn PDU credits. Thus, as one of the PMP certification benefits, PMP certified professionals keep learning new and emerging project management trends through several events and resources.

If you are a PMP, you must fulfill the continuing education requirements. This continuing education brings implied PMP certification benefits to the PMP credential holders. It provides the opportunity to groom the latest trends in project management. On the other hand, it does not force you to confine yourself to a certain topic of education. So project managers can earn and gear up for the new technologies and skills. These can ensure their readiness for more complex, and technology advanced projects. There are certain areas which include:

1- Emerging Trends: Project Management Approaches

The project nature has transformed from a detailed elaboration mode to agile mode. Likewise, the focus from extensive full-fledged planning is changed to priority based iterations. This results in different approaches to manage the projects. Additionally, the philosophy of the projects has also evolved. Now the projects are more towards handling technology advancement along with dynamic requirements. The philosophy emphasizes fast-paced delivery and adding value to the client.

These factors have resulted in a variety of project methodologies that range from waterfall to agile methodology. This range also includes the following:

• Spiral
• Continual development
• Extreme Programming (XP)
• Kanban
• Scrum Framework
• Scrum of Scrums.

It is essential for project managers to understand these various methodologies. So they can choose the best fit and implement as per project requirement. Many times, project managers need to implement hybrid approaches which is a result of combining traditional methodologies with the latest methodologies.

You can make better decisions provided you have a good knowledge of these methodologies. You can choose the right methodology. Also, you can focus on the tools and techniques to implement the right ones. Even if required you can identify and merge the methodologies to bring a more effective approach for your project. Hence the knowledge of the methodologies is essential for identification and customization to achieve the right fit.

2- Emerging Trends: Increasing Role of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence has been a topic for the latest trending technologies. It has also been realized as an important factor in the project management sector. These new trends of projects encompass the automation of various aspects of the organizations.

Business Process Re-engineering results in the improvement of processes within an organization. This improvement is achieved through the automation of the processes. Many organizations take initiatives to improve their operations. For this sake, they focus on the possible ways to explore and automate essential possible tasks. Automation of tasks can reduce human dependency. This means fewer chances of human errors and the implementation at a consistent rate regardless of distractions.

Automation has been vital in industries where hazardous material handling poses threats to human lives in addition to accessing the areas which are riskier for human lives or which are not approachable by humans. These have posed the organizations to come with innovative solutions. Projects in the field of Biotechnology, Robotics, Complex and lengthy processes are few examples.

Furthermore, the simulations and automation of the risk estimation based on several factors. These simulation tools can help project managers to manage the complexity within the project. Decision support systems, expert systems, and machine learning are the challenges of the future. No doubt a lot of exploration is already done in these areas.

Project managers need to grip these AI factors in project management so they can work on complex projects.

3. Emerging Trends: Project management tools

As there are a number of project methodologies, project managers opt with respect to the project nature. Likewise, there are numerous tools that project managers use to manage the projects. The first of them is project scheduling tools. Project managers use tools like MS Project, Primavera, Team Foundation Server, Version One. These software help project managers to plan the traditional project implementation as well as the agile sprints.

Once the project manager sets the road map of the project using these softwares, the team follows the plan to implement the project. The tools help the project managers to perform project planning, scheduling, and time tracking as well as communications and collaborations. Identification of the project progress becomes easy with the help of these tools. Project managers can identify the gaps in budget and time. So overall monitoring and tracking becomes easier with the help of these tools. The exposure of these tools will help you gain more value. Hence you will qualify for more PMP certification benefits with the passage of time.

4. Emerging Trends: Virtual Team Management and Collaboration tools

Nowadays, it is a common practice that the project teams are working remotely. All the team members are part of virtual teams which means that all the team members are not co-located. There are lot more tools that are not specific to project scheduling but these are the need of the day. Project managers should be well equipped with these tools to better communicate with the team. Slack, Zoom, Blue Jeans, and Skype for business are some of the well-known communication tools. Project managers use these tools to effectively collaborate among the team for real-time discussions and broadcasting.

Furthermore, you can use cloud-based storage to store and share the artifacts within the team. Tools like Mega and Dropbox are some of the examples that provide such features. In addition to this, there are many software development tools that support DevOps, Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment, Test-driven development are the recent trends that have attracted a lot of attention and focus for the recent development. The expertise of remote management and focus on DevOps will be another factor of advancement which can result in PMP certification benefits in regards to the continuation of education as well as the latest technology experience.

5. Emerging Trends: Data Analytics

Project management focus is trending more on data analytics to gain more insight into the data and trends. These insights enable the decision-makers to get real-time latest information and take appropriate decisions. These decisions can help businesses grow with the support of fact-based decision making.

These analytics have enabled project managers to get the dimensional depth of the data. Project managers try to quantify things so that they can measure and manage the project well. Based on these data insights, project managers talk about facts and impacts. Organizations require such information to take well-informed data-driven decision making.

Project management software helps the organization to maintain and extract the details of the historic projects. This historic information helps the project managers to estimate and plan based on the historic information. For instance, for a certain type of project, what were the associated risks? Moreover, for a certain type of activity what was the team effort and associated budget? Furthermore, you can look for the reasons for the failure of a certain project type. Project managers can also use the lesson learned within the alike projects. All such information can help project managers to position their teams.

Many software provides high-level data and custom reports. Power BI, Tableau, SAS are some of the examples of the data analytics tools.

In addition to the aforementioned trends, Cyber Security and Emotional Intelligence are the more trending aspects. Project managers should focus on these areas to further enhance their careers and to keep abreast of the latest trends. This will help them to further pursue their careers and gain PMP Certification benefits.

Summary

In this article, we’ve shared the top 5 PMP certification benefits that PMP accreditation holders enjoy once they are PMP certified. Global recognition is one of the main PMP certification benefits. PMP certification is an endorsement of your project management knowledge and skills.

Another one of the PMP Certification benefits is that the PMP credentials are a hot favorite for the recruiting agencies. They give prioritization to PMP certification holders. Even some organizations make it mandatory to have PMP certification while inducting project managers.

We can also certainly include salary advancement in the PMP certification benefits. According to the recent surveys, the advancement of salary is also one of PMP certification benefits. Because PMP holders get more than 20% increased salary as compared to their non-certified colleagues of the same scale. Furthermore, the latest reports on the project management trends show an increase in the demand for project management jobs in the coming years. So this is also one of the PMP certification benefits for sure.

In addition to this, PMP certification brings a common platform for effective communication. The standardized terms have increased the influence in the communication across the board. And lastly, we discuss the latest PM trends in project management which gives you the idea to align your skillset while meeting the continuing education criteria set by PMI.

We hope this article helped you understand the PMP certification benefits that PMP certification can bring to its holders. We wish you the best of luck for your project management career advancement.

The post PMP Certification Benefits – Top 5 Benefits of PMP® Certificate appeared first on Project Hipo.